Lonely People
by alwaysdarling
Summary: Rachel Berry's in line for Prom Queen. Santana Lopez deals with her inner demons. Puck leads a double life. Relationships will be revealed as the story goes on.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first story. I hope you guys enjoy and review please. I love constructive criticism.**

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><p>It was a pretty usual day for Rachel Berry as she made her way through the crowded halls of McKinley towards her locker. A few steps away were Quinn, the icy blonde cheerleader who went out of her way to torture her and Finn, the boy who started it all. They were arguing once again about the state of their relationship and before she knew it, she was being dragged into the conversation.<p>

"Do you need anything RuPaul or do you just like to eavesdrop on other people's business?" Quinn barked.

"Quinn... Just drop it. Leave Rachel alone," Finn said softly.

"Why are you always trying to protect her? I'm your girlfriend now." Instead of standing his ground, Finn mumbled his apologies. As much as part of him still loved Rachel, he was still angry at her for kissing Puck. On the other hand, he loved Quinn; she was his first girlfriend and it was too special for him not to give her a second chance. Rachel's eyes narrowed at the tall quarterback as she scoffed; he was always unable to stand up for her whenever anyone insulted her especially when it came to Quinn. Sighing, Rachel turned around to face McKinley's own power couple.

"I wasn't eavesdropping because unlike you I've moved on from Finn and seriously, if you want to the public to think that this little power couple is back on without any problems from last year, I suggest you two take your little problems elsewhere." Quinn rolled her eyes but nevertheless she pulled Finn's arm and walked away glaring back at the brunette.

"Nice job Hobbit, nice to see you standing up for yourself for once." Rachel let out an exasperated sigh before turning around to face the Latina smirking at her.

"Listen, whatever it is that you want I don't have time for it. Now if you excuse me," Rachel began before Santana grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Okay fine, I'm sorry. I probably should've come to you in a better manner. Here's the thing you hate Quinn just as much as I do."

"I don't hate her."

"Okay fine, you don't hate her but you don't like her either." Rachel shrugged because regardless of how Santana worded it, it was true.

"I guess you could say that."

"No matter what you've done for her, all of those times you offered her your friendship she threw it back in your face. It's time for you to stand up to her."

"And what's in it for you?" Rachel asked skeptically.

"Like I said I hate Quinn and it's time for her to get a dose of her own medicine. What's the one thing she wants, the one thing she absolutely craves?"

"Popularity."

"And what is the epitome of popularity in high school?"

"Prom Queen," Rachel said catching the drift, "I don't know Santana. I don't like her but that's a little harsh don't you think?"

"Exactly, Quinn's the type of person where she'll never learn until it's thrown in her face and what better way for her to learn than by the person who she's tortured the most," Santana said with an evil grin across her face as she leaned against the locker.

"What exactly do you have in mind?" Rachel knew in her mind that she should've just walked away but something was holding her back. Maybe it was Santana's ability to persuade people or the fact that she was having a bad day and the run in with the ice queen didn't help much. Regardless, here she was listening to Santana's diabolical plan.

"Prom is in exactly three months which gives us just enough time to make you popular," Santana began.

"You do realize that half of the school hates me right?"

"They don't hate you; they just don't know you. Anyways, there's a spot open in the Cheerios that I know Sylvester will give to you."

"Why? She doesn't even like me." Santana frowned.

"Are you going to keep interrupting me?" she asked with a bit of annoyance, "It doesn't matter if she doesn't like you. She knows you're good and that's all that it's going to take for you to get an in with the popular crowd, that and a new wardrobe." Rachel shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she thought about it.

"Santana as much as I appreciate you thinking that I would be the best choice to sabotage Quinn's prom queen fantasy, I'm much too busy with my lessons and my destined future in New York to deal with this frivolous high school drama." Before she could walk away, Santana grabbed her once again in the arm and pulled her back with a small amount of force.

"This isn't an option, B. You're the one to beat when it comes to Quinn. Besides, you're going to have a fresh start when you go off to school. Don't you want your theater freak friends to think you were actually liked and popular enough to become prom queen? Think of the possibilities and get back to me," Santana said walking away. Rachel stood there stunned unsure of what to think. She knew that if she were to be a part of Santana's little plan, then she'd just be adding fuel to the never ending feud that was Quinn and Rachel. But another part of her knew that secretly there was a part of every girl that longed to be prom queen and as unpopular as Rachel was, she still had that fantasy. Before she could even process the conversation she had with Santana, she felt the familiar tingling of the icy syrup splashing her face. She stood there wide-eyed before she took in her surroundings and saw the students nearby laughing.

"So what do you say?" Santana said returning back to her.

"Did you have any part of this?" Rachel asked. Santana shook her head and motioned towards Quinn who was laughing while Finn stood there awkwardly.

"She's captain again; therefore, she has the slushy pull." Rachel looked over at Quinn who smirked back at her with a small wave.

"I'm totally in."


	2. Chapter 2

The day moved quickly and before she knew it, it was lunchtime. There she stood in the gym besides Santana standing awkwardly as Coach Sylvester criticized her.

"This is your best idea?" she said unimpressed. Santana nodded with confidence; she knew what an asset Rachel would be to the cheerios and if Coach was fine with putting Wheezy and Kurt in, she should be fine with putting Rachel in.

"And what makes you think you can be a part of my Cheerios? You do know we're champions right, from what I understand you come from a losing team." Rachel winced; their loss at Regionals last year was still fresh in her mind.

"I have eight years of gymnastic training and 10 of ballet. I'm a better dancer than most of the cheerios on your team and unlike a majority of them, I'm not failing any of my classes nor do I want to get myself pregnant." Sue looked at her with a nod; maybe Rachel had a backbone after all.

"San, do the routine we went over yesterday at practice. If Berry can catch up then she's in. If she can't, she's out and you're back at the bottom." Santana looked back at Rachel with a glare that read "you better be able to keep up." She hated being at the bottom of the pyramid especially with Quinn at top smirking at her. Santana moved to stand in front of Rachel.

"Alright, I'm going to show you the routine once. The second time, catch up." Rachel nodded as she watched Santana attentively. Fortunately for her, having all those years of training allowed her to pick up the routine with ease. Coach Sylvester and Santana looked at her impressed when she did the routine by herself without Santana as a guide.

"You're in. Santana, you know what to do," Coach Sylvester said before walking away without another glance.

"Excellent," Santana said with a mischievous grin, "wait here!" Before she knew it, Santana was running back into the gym with a cheerios uniform and a pair of white sneakers.

"Get changed."

"Here?" Rachel asked dumbfounded. Santana rolled her eyes as she sucked in a deep breath.

"Yeah, right here, so Jew fro can get a nice picture of you for his blog," she said sarcastically, "in the locker room." After changing out of her regular clothes and putting on the uniform, Santana came over and pulled Rachel's hair into a tight pony tail.

"I'm not sure about this Santana," Rachel said as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Fine, if you want to be picked on and ridiculed by the ice queen every day, go 'head. This is finally your shot to stand up to her but if you don't think you're strong enough to do it then whatever."

"Wait… Do you really think by simply being a cheerio it'll help?" Santana shook her head.

"You have to change your attitude. Everyone knows you have a banging voice but they don't need to be reminded of that every time you walk through the halls." Rachel nodded taking it all in. Santana looked at her and sighed.

"Look, you're not that bad to be around once you get over yourself. You just need to relax and let them know the real you."

"I guess I could see the logic in that," she said playing with the ends of her ponytail.

"Alright head up. C'mon, let's show McKinley who they're messing with." Rachel nodded as she followed Santana out of the locker room. The two girls made their way down the hall with their heads up high. Once they entered the cafeteria, the room fell silent in surprise.

"Berry nice," Sam said with a wink as he made his way towards them. Rachel chuckled softly as she hit him jokingly. Ever since Finn and Quinn got back together, she and Sam became very close friends. Quinn slammed her hands against the table as she got up and marched over to the duo.

"I have to talk to you alone," she muttered angrily at Santana.

"Whatever. Trouty Mouth, take care of B, I'll be back," she said. With a roll of the eyes, she followed Quinn out of the cafeteria and to somewhere more private.

"What is this?" Quinn whispered.

"You told me to make her popular no matter what it takes and I am," Santana responded. She hated the blonde for forcing her to be a part of her scheme to tear down Rachel. Sure, Rachel wasn't one of her most favorite people but what Quinn was planning was cruel.

_Santana's attention was drawn away from her nails when she heard the sound of her locker slamming shut. She looked up and saw Quinn trying to tower over her. _

"_What do you want Tubbers?" Santana asked. _

"_Listen here Satan. I need you to do something for me." Santana laughed as she focused her attention back on her nails. _

"_What exactly do you want?" _

"_To tear down Rachel Berry." Santana rolled her eyes. Quinn had no right to hate Rachel anymore; she finally got Finn and Rachel had finally moved on. _

"_You're crazy Fabray; find someone else to help you. Go ask Aretha, I know she wants Berry gone just as much as you."_

"_While Mercedes does want her gone, she won't do. I need you." _

"_And what makes you think I would want to help you." _

"_Because I know about your little secret, and if you don't the whole school will find out." Santana's eyes narrowed as she stared at the blonde. _

"_You're kidding. I have no secrets." _

"_Really? Because I don't think you want the whole school to know what you told Brittany. You saw how they treated Kurt, you really going to take that chance?" Quinn asked. _

"_You wouldn't dare," Santana said pushing Quinn towards the locker. _

"_Try me; I'm done being the center of all the gossip. If I can pass it onto someone else why wouldn't I?" she said pushing back. Santana looked at Quinn with disbelief. She could not believe that this was the girl who used to be one of her closest friends. _

"_What do you want me to do," Santana said grudgingly. Quinn replied with a wide grin as she began to spill the details of her plan. _

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><p><strong>Thanks for all the story alerts guys, let's try for reviews, yeah? :)<strong>_  
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